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Writing perspective as mother-of-the-bride

I’ve been away from my computer for awhile although emails to friends has kept me writing and documenting my adventures that have ranged from getting ready in Mexico for our daughter’s wedding to pounding the waves in an open zodiac up in Haida Gwaii.

To say the least, life has been interesting and FUN!

This was the situation two days before our daughter’s wedding:

Place: The Galindo Hotel

Scenerio:

Over the years that my daughter has dated her Mexican beau, I’ve come to understand that Mexican Time is like Island Time here on the West Coast of Canada. Everything gets done when it gets done – and it will sometime!

As the bride’s mother arriving a week ahead of the wedding from out-of-country with the groom’s family in charge of looking after the arrangements, I started to ask myself a few questions 48 hours ahead of the big event.

Is there going to be a rehearsal? A: Don’t know.

Is there a rehearsal dinner? A: Don’t know.

What time is hair appointments the day of? A: Don’t know.

What time/where is everyone getting dressed the day of? A: Don’t know!

What is the actual time of wedding and where in the hotel? A: Don’t know!!

As a writer, the mother-of-the-bride could react in many ways:

Catatonic and shut herself in the closet.

Hysterical and march down the hallways banging on doors and demanding answers.

Call 911 with heart attack symptoms.

Tell off the future in-law family members and regret it later – or not.

Laugh as though it doesn’t matter and then burst into tears because it does.

Get drunk at the pool and make a scene.

Jump on a plane and go back home.

Be patient and see what happens.

Each scenario would play out differently in a story, right? And each scenario would show something about the character, right?

Like Joe suggested in his last post, when stuck, interview anything you want in your story. The city, the cat, the mail person, the fallen tree, etc. This can be said of your characters in any situation too. Play out different reactions and see which one tilts your story in a way you hadn’t anticipated. It may be in a direction you want to go – or not. The process though, will always show you something about the story in a different light.

And for me, that’s a great fun factor. Be open to be surprised!

Now I bet you want to know how I, the “real mother-of-the-bride” reacted? 🙂

I laughed and waited, and had a couple of glasses of wine. And visited with the wonderful friends and family that had arrived. In reality (not as the writer) I know my daughter and her fiance enough to not sweat the “small stuff,” and what will happen will happen. And it will happen!

Little did I know what the real wedding day had in store! Now here’s the REAL STORY!

no arrangement was made for flowers for the bride or bridesmaids. In Mexico it’s not custom to have flowers at a civil wedding, only in church apparently. I learned this as my daughter was getting ready and one of her bridesmaids asked, “Where’s the flowers?” A scramble ensued, aka lots of texts, to find out there weren’t any!

a monsoon rainstorm erupted an hour before the wedding. The MC was seen with 50 towels in hand racing towards the outdoor undercover wedding spot that had become flooded by the wind blowing rain onto the chairs. There were NO Plan B arrangements!

the set time for the wedding was 7 p.m. (I did find this out 48 hours ahead), and the outdoor photos that were planned for before the wedding now became indoor photos.

50 towels didn’t help dry the outdoor area, so the MC scrambled to find another room.

the wedding group, including bride and groom, were seen running behind the photographer down hallways and stairs throughout the hotel to find a “good photo spot” – all the while dodging guests that were being directed towards their new location in the lounge area.

the interpreter( from Spanish to English) cancelled two hours before the event.

the judge was late – stuck on the freeway behind an accident.

over 30 guests were also stuck behind the accident.

So, how did it go? What did the real mother-of-the-bride do?

Well, I followed the wedding party around the hotel during the picture-taking, watched the guests march from one end of the hotel to the other, stayed neutral when all the other information came to light AND was very aware of watching how my daughter and her fiance dealt with the stress.

They were AMAZING! They took it all in stride, dealing with each news item in turn as it happened with no strong or loud and obnoxious words to each other or to their friends/family. They smiled in their photos. They laughed in their photos, and let the MC make all the new arrangements without interfering.

And during the ceremony all that mattered were each other!

As the mother-of-the-bride, I couldn’t have been happier or more proud at the way they handled the day with grace and respect! They will both look after each other. That is comforting to me.

That is what really matters.

So I smiled and enjoyed the experience! And partied the night away to American and Mexican music, fireworks, entertainers on stilts, food, Mariachi band, and more food! Oh, and a couple of glasses of wine too!

What fun!

Achievements:

My daughter’s wedding! She chose a great soul-mate. Love to you both!

Family time with all our children and their significant others. Everyone likes everyone. Gotta love that!

3 thoughts on “Writing perspective as mother-of-the-bride”

Oh I do wish we’d talked about this more tonight! What a hoot. It sounds like the Keystone Cops, only better. How great that everyone could just take it all in stride and go with the flow. It sounds like a fabulous wedding. Who cares about flowers?! You had fireworks! And a Mariachi Band! And stilt people! Wooohooo!
Alison

Thanks Alison! And thanks for dinner last night too! Amazing how our blogs have connected us virtually and in person. Our daughter’s wedding was SO much fun and she did end up with flowers too! Her sister-in-law took some from the table arrangements and tied them together and presented them to my daughter surreptitiously from the side half-way through the formal ceremony. So many precious moments! 😀😅